That's my point, no one know who ISIS is (other than the fact that they have close links to the American-funded Al-Qaeda) and how big they are because we aren't being told and they not as big a threat as they're portrayed. Especially to the military with a budget of $495.6 billion - more than twice the size of Iraq's economy.

American funded Al-Qaeda. Lol. We're done conversing.

"Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth." Mike Tyson
“Culture?” says Paul McCartney. “This isn't culture. It's just a good laugh.”

I would say that too if I heard my hard-earned tax went to terrorist organisations.

[Osama Bin Laden] not only invested some of his personal financial resources to fund the combat brigades, he also received military and financial assistance from the intelligence services of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States.

No, but it's interesting that now they want to put ground troops there especially since non-US companies have access to the oil rigs. Also, even if it isn't about oil, then it's certainly to gain access to the whole of the middle east, slowly, albeit, but it'll happen.

Definitely, it may take a while, sorry. Also, it's written in Arabic, do you want me to translate it or do you prefer to get translated (I'm serious)?

Where did you get the 3% from?

Uh, yeah sure translate it if you're really bored, haha.

(8,106 / 256,241)*100=3.1%

but that's February 2014 I guess so,

July 2014

(15,376/293,644)*100=5.2%

From the link.

Like I said, I haven't read (I haven't checked the news today) that the U.S. has troops on the ground. I think they do, but it's a very small number (1,600) and they're not there for any combat.

I'll agree that the U.S. wants some control in the middle east, we already have military bases in the following countries:

Kuwait
Bahrain
Turkey
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Egypt

How much of that has to do with oil vs. threats in a region where we are "The Infidel" I'm not sure. I'm definitely not an expert in global/military politics.

I do know we import 40% of our oil from foreign countries. Of that 40%, most comes from the western hemisphere (60%). 28% from the Persian Gulf.

Some may be surprised to learn that over 50% of U.S. crude oil and petroleum products imports came from the Western Hemisphere (North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean, including U.S. territories) during 2012. About 29% of our imports of crude oil and petroleum products came from the Persian Gulf countries of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Our largest sources of net crude oil and petroleum product imports were Canada and Saudi Arabia.

That's my point, no one know who ISIS is (other than the fact that they have close links to the American-funded Al-Qaeda) and how big they are because we aren't being told and they not as big a threat as they're portrayed. Especially to the military with a budget of $495.6 billion - more than twice the size of Iraq's economy.

Originally Posted by Mal12345

American funded Al-Qaeda. Lol. We're done conversing.

Al Qaeda may not exist without funding from the U.S. during the Afghan/Soviet war.

Operation Cyclone was one of the longest and most expensive covert CIA operations ever undertaken;[1] funding began with $20–$30 million per year in 1980 and rose to $630 million per year in 1987.[2] Funding continued after 1989 as the Mujahideen battled the forces of Mohammad Najibullah's PDPA during the Civil war in Afghanistan (1989–1992).[3]

During in the 1970s, when Russia was the biggest threat to America and radical Islam was not as big of a concern of the USA’s, the USA began funding and training Islamic militants to fight our Russian enemies in Afghanistan.
These militants, known as the mujahideen would rebel the Russians out of Afghanistan and later become the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.

One side is ready and able to die for the Caliphate and Sharia Law, while the other side is defending liberal democracy and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The outcome of the war will determine whether we live under a Sharia government or a secular government.

The reason the war will last 100 years is that it is a religious war, the worst kind of war because no compromise is possible.

In fighting any war the first thing is to know our enemy and to know ourselves. Unfortunately we don't know our enemy and we don't know ourselves. So we can look forward to continuing defeats until we do.

Defeating ISIS requires combating salafist ideology and economically destroying groups and movements that proliferate it in the world. ISIS will continue to reinvent endlessly until the underlying ideological etiology is addressed. It's not ISIS itself is dangerous, it's the ideas behind it. In the Rear of every destructive and maleficient movement, there is a ideological framework, which is inspired by a belief-system. ISIS isn't new.. salafism and their softer sibling, wahabism, have been building their power since 1950s.

"Where can you flee? What road will you use to escape us? Our horses are swift, our arrows sharp, our swords like thunderbolts, our hearts as hard as the mountains, our soldiers as numerous as the sand. Fortresses will not detain us, nor arms stop us. Your prayers to God will not avail against us. We are not moved by tears nor touched by lamentations."